Before you chow down on that corned beef and cabbage with the healthy side of potatoes on St. Patrick’s Day, you might want to consider a few options.

Yes, corned beef and cabbage are what North Americans including Londoners traditionally eat to celebrate St. Paddy’s day, but you’d be hard-pressed to find such fare in Ireland.

In fact, even the drowning of your meal with glasses of foaming Guinness or green beer is not really part of the Irish tradition, although it is growing in popularity in the homeland.

“The American Irish do, but I’ve never really seen that in Ireland,” said chef Cathal Armstrong, the Irish-born and raised chef who has just released a new cookbook, My Irish Table: Recipes from the Homeland and Restaurant Eve by Cathal Armstrong and David Hagedorn (Ten Speed Press).

Armstrong and his wife, Meshelle, own and operate the renowned Restaurant Eve in Alexandria, Va.

“It’s not something you’d typically see on the table in a household on St. Patrick’s Day. I’d say 80% of the families in Ireland are eating leg of lamb. It’s in season, the ideal celebratory meal for a big family. And the alternative to that is baked salmon. Of course, Irish stew is very Irish. That’s another tradition and alternative for celebrating our Christian heritage.”

Armstrong said instead of gathering in large groups at bars to drink copious amounts of beer or Irish whiskey, “St. Patrick’s Day is a lot like the American Thanksgiving where there’s a parade and families gather.”

In London, most, if not all, drinking holes will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day, but mostly in the North American tradition of lots of beer, some green, and Guinness, perhaps with some corned beef and cabbage.

But a sampling of a few of the more traditional pubs in London shows some sense of the traditional Irish celebration.

At the Waltzing Weasel on Adelaide St. North, owner Mike McCoubrey said he expects a crowd filled with ex-pats from Ireland, Britain and Scotland with the usual large contingent of Canadians who become Irish for a day.

“We’ll be busy, but not as busy as we’d be if was a Thursday, Friday or Saturday,” said McCoubrey.

“We sell more food than alcohol, although we’ll be selling a lot of Guinness.”

McCoubrey said the setting of his pub “reminds (ex-pats) of home.

“I think our pub is pretty authentic as far as the size and decor and I think our food is fairly traditional,” said McCoubrey, who will be serving Irish stew.

Downtown, Coates of Arms Restaurant and Pub on Talbot St. is also expecting a gathering of ex-pats and will be serving Irish stew, as well as corned beef and cabbage.

“Everybody loves their fish and chips, so we’ll have that, too,” said co-owner Rob Coates, who operates the pub with cousin Jon.

“We’ll have people from the British Isles and Ireland. When they come in they say it looks like home. It’s more of a mature crowd,” he said, adding there will be a few Irish beers on tap and a selection of Irish whiskies.

The Morrisey House is another place where you’ll find a traditional Irish culinary experience over the weekend through Monday.

Owner Mark Serre said he’ll be serving an Irish breakfast (a “mash-up” of eggs, bacon and sausage but not of the black or white varieties popular in Ireland) over the weekend and Monday, corned beef sandwiches, Irish stew with soda bread, and a Guinness sticky pudding for dessert. He may also offer the popular Irish potato dish, colcannon, made of mashed potato, kale or cabbage, and butter.

There will also be a wide selection of Irish beer and at least seven different Irish whiskies.

“We’ll have a lot of Irish here celebrating, but everybody does whether they’re Irish or not.”